Pages

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Charlie Cochet is great at bringing a dose of comedy to her stories--not matter who much of a wringer she puts her characters through. In this case, Quinn has an over the top family and Spencer is the quintessential geek, read: so not smooth! I was both laughing and cringing in parts of this story, it felt so real.

Many people might question the fact that these guys have been neighbors for a year with no real interaction, but after having a car accident, I met neighbors bringing me food and offering help, and most had never done more than nod as we passed in the hall. So it's definitely a possibility, but of course, Spencer wasn't unaware of his hotter than hot Latin neighbor... he just didn't want to get creamed for making the wrong assumptions.

Because being a SWAT officer doesn't exactly lend itself well to being gay. Quinn's been through a lot, dealing with a family and work culture that isn't always easy to deal with. When Spencer reaches out after their first meeting debacle, well... things just sort of snowball into a great story!

I don't want to give away more than that about the plot, because this story is really short. I think the most distinctive memory I have of reading it was when I hit the next page on my kindle and went... THE END? What? No! It really feels like we're missing out on a lot that comes next with this story. I wanted more, a lot more, because I really enjoyed Charlie's writing, and I wasn't ready for it to end. I really hope this story will lead to more, because I'd love to see more of Quinn and Spencer.

Title: Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts

Author: Charlie Cochet

Publisher: Dreamspinner
Press

Cover Artist: Anne Cain

Length: 86 pages

Release Date: August
19, 2015

Blurb: Julian “Quinn” Quinetro, a gruff, tough
Miami SWAT officer, has been injured on the job, and all he’s looking for is a
little peace and quiet to recover—difficult to achieve with his large Cuban
family. An adventure in picking up his prescriptions puts him in the path of
his geeky, brownie-baking neighbor, Spencer Morgan. Spencer sweeps into Quinn’s
life like a tropical storm of sunshine and rainbows. Not surprisingly, it’s chaos
at first sight. Quinn’s in need of a little tender loving care, and Spencer
decides he’s just the man for the job. Their very different lives might clash,
but they might also find some common ground—and maybe more.

“This is sad, man. What is it with you
and brownies?”

“These aren’t just any brownies,”
Spencer stated proudly as he removed his latest batch of baked chocolate
decadence from the oven. “These are Nutella caramel brownies with nuts, made
from scratch. These are orgasm-in-your-mouth brownies.”

“Not really sure what to think about
that,” Danny muttered, eyeing the brownies dubiously. “Seriously, dude. The
only orgasm you should be chasing is the one waiting next door. This is your
perfect chance! He’s defenseless.” Danny reached for a brownie, but Spencer
slapped his hand away before he could pilfer one.

“I have to spread the Nutella and top
them with walnuts. Also, I don’t know what I find more disturbing: that you
think I should take advantage of the poor guy in his defenseless state, or that
you believe the only way I’ve got a shot is to take advantage of him in his
defenseless state.” He stopped and turned to his pouting best friend. “And FYI,
defenseless is what babies and puppies are, not huge-ass mountain men in
possession of heavy artillery. I ran into him once, literally, and it’s like
he’s made out of fucking granite. He’s got an eight-pack. An eight-pack.”

Spencer had never seen an eight-pack outside
of cyberspace. Until his sexy neighbor, he’d questioned their existence, much
like Bigfoot. The sighting had taken place one morning on his way to get
groceries. Quinn had been on his way to their gated community’s pool, sporting
nothing but low-riding swim trunks and flip-flops. He’d stepped into the
elevator next to Spencer, and the heat outside had nothing on the heat that had
spread through Spencer’s body. Luckily Quinn had been too busy texting to
notice Spencer’s Human Torch impression.

“I have… I don’t even know what this
is.” Spencer lifted up the hem of his apron and the Hulk T-shirt underneath
with a frown. He ran his finger down a groove along his torso as he sucked his
stomach in. “Does this look like muscle definition to you?”

Danny reached over to pat Spencer’s
pale belly. “Looks like you need to stop baking brownies. And get some sun,
man. Look at you. You’re not even white. You’re like, transparent.”

“That’s harsh.” Spencer lowered his
clothes. “I don’t tan like you. I burn. You couldn’t lie to me? Besides, what
am I supposed to say to him? ‘Hi, remember me? I’m the guy who’s been living
next door to you for the past year. We pass each other in the hall every day,
take the elevator together, have parking spaces next to each other, have mailboxes
next to each other, do laundry in the same room together, and shop at the same
supermarket. No? That’s okay. Excuse me while I die of embarrassment.’” Spencer
walked around the kitchen counter and flopped down into a chair, waiting for
the brownies to cool. “The guy doesn’t know I exist. He’s freakin’ Miami SWAT.
He’s probably an overbearing, misogynistic asshole with a giant ego, anyway.”

Danny took a seat next to him, his
expression filled with concern. “You don’t know that. Besides, since when do
you judge people?”

Spencer narrowed his eyes at his
friend. “No one likes a smartass.”

“Says the guy who got a ticket for
mouthing off to a police officer.”

“I wasn’t mouthing off. I was being
witty and adorable. The guy just had no sense of humor. Besides, I was nowhere
near that fire hydrant. He was clearly behind on his quota. Bet that wouldn’t
have happened to Quinn.” Was he pouting? Oh God, he was. Danny was right; he
was sad.

“Probably because he’s SWAT and can
park his ginormous truck wherever the hell he wants.” Danny went to the glass
doors of the balcony overlooking the parking spaces and started laughing.

“What?”

“You know how they say dogs look like
their owners? I wonder if the same applies to cars.”

Charlie Cochet is an author by day and artist by night. Always
quick to succumb to the whispers of her wayward muse, no star is out of reach
when following her passion. From adventurous agents and sexy shifters, to
society gentlemen and hardboiled detectives, there’s bound to be plenty of
mischief for her heroes to find themselves in, and plenty of romance, too!

Currently residing in Central Florida, Charlie is at the
beck and call of a rascally Doxiepoo bent on world domination. When she isn’t
writing, she can usually be found reading, drawing, or watching movies. She
runs on coffee, thrives on music, and loves to hear from readers.

Another week, and this time, the guys are finally getting somewhere! But will they make it as far as Schvesla's machine? Check out this week's update, inspired by the prompt: Take one more step, and I'll shoot.

Part 44

“We shouldn’t split up,” Teddy
said.

“I agree, but which way do we go?
We don’t have an unlimited amount of time. At least we won’t get lost.” Our
footprints left a clear path behind us in the layer of dust.

“This way.” Wildman didn’t even
wait for us to discuss it, he just plunged ahead down the right corridor.

“Does this seem like the right
way?” I whispered to Teddy as we trailed him.

“Right way,” Wildman said.

Teddy shrugged. “I don’t know
where we are under the palace, but we’re definitely still on the grounds somewhere.
He seems to know where to go, and it’s better than just picking a turn at
random.”

Since we began this journey, my
emotions had been all over the place. Excitement and pride as I planned to
follow in Schvesla’s footsteps, horror and betrayal when we realized what was
truly going on, gratitude and pleasure I’d never felt before after Teddy and I
moved into an intimate relationship, to anger and frustration when our every
plan was thwarted by those who care too little.

The emotional upheaval was exhausting.

It was a relief to have the end in
sight, as it were. “We have to be close.” My heart was beginning to pound. “Is
your arm okay?”

“Fine.” Teddy rested his good hand
on the hilt of the short word tucked into a silenced scabbard at his side. He
cradled his other arm against his stomach. We’d taken unobtrusive weapons, but
I had a pistol as well, as a last resort. My ability was a far more
effective—and silent—method of personal protection, but it wouldn’t work at a
distance or on more than two or three people at a time, so I focused on keeping
the lantern bright enough to light our way but not blind us or give away our
position.

The corridor took an abrupt turn.
Wildman dropped to his belly and cautiously peeked around the corner. He
crawled backward and then stood up. He spread his arms. “Big room.”

“This has to be it,” Teddy
whispered. “Did you see anyone?”

He shook his head.

“What about a machine?” I leaned
forward, anxious to hear the answer.

Wildman shrugged.

“It has to be it. There’s nothing
else worth hiding down here.”

“Let’s check it out, but be
careful,” I cautioned them.

We crept out into a round chamber.
The ceiling was high, extending in the shadows beyond our sight, great metal
tubes pushing upward from the contraption sitting on a raised dais in the
middle of the floor. I paused, staring at the machine in front of me I’d only
ever read about in books.

Schvesla’s machine.

“This is it,” Teddy said. Wildman
prowled around to the back of the machine.

“It is.” I went in the opposite
direction. “But these aren’t supposed to be part of it.”

There were two cables running from
the machine to two bulky man-shaped metal cages. They were… chilling. I know
what they were used for. Evil.

“We have to destroy them.” Teddy
was standing next to me, and I swayed back, leaning into him for a brief
moment. “The machine has to be destroyed too, but how?”

My first plan had just been to
physically destroy it. But what if they rebuilt it? It was too big; we couldn’t
just smash it to pieces.

“I think… I think we need to
destroy it ourselves.” I turned and looked at Teddy. “I don’t know if it’s
possible, but if we overload it, burn it out and all the wires through the city…
they’d never be able to fix that. No one knows how to fix the cables Schvesla
invented to transmit the Beta power.”

“What if it burns us out? Like the
others?” Teddy was pale, and I understood his fear. Being a Beta was what I’d
based my worth upon for so long; what if I didn’t have that anymore?

“We won’t be able to stay here any
longer, and what good will it do us out there, outside the city? We can make it
on our own because of who we are, together, and not depend on what we are.”

Teddy swallowed hard, and then
nodded. “Let’s do it.”

“Wildman,” I called softly. He rounded
the back of the machine, padding along on bare feet that didn’t make a sound on
the rough stones. “Once we figure out where it is, we need you to flip the
switch or press the button that will activate the cages. Can you do that?”

He shrugged, turning and walking
back to the machine. He pointed to a set of cogs and a lever. “Here.”

Damn. He really was smarter than
his appearance and speech led a person to believe. I wasn’t going to ask if he
was sure; I knew he was.

“Okay.” I sucked in a breath and
let it out slowly. “Here we go.”

“I think we should take off
anything metal. We don’t want anything to spark.” I wasn’t sure if it would,
but it was better to be safe than sorry. Teddy unstrapped his long knife and
removed a small pistol I hadn’t known he was carrying. I set them on the floor
in front of the cage, and then shut the door.

He shivered, gripping the front of
it. I covered his fingers with mine. “You’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.”

Teddy nodded. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

I went over to my cage. I
unstrapped my long knife, but before I could set it down, echoing footsteps
from booted feet startled me.

“Stop! What are you doing there?”

I spun. A guard stood at the other
edge of the room, staring at us with huge eyes. His hand hovered over his
weapon. Thankfully, my pistol was in my hand. I pointed it at his head. “What
should’ve been done a long time ago.”

Saturday, August 22, 2015

The stolen stories have been taken down! Woo hoo! Unfortunately, it does appear they let him stay on the site and repost some of the material, as the account was down to 2 works, then none, and is now up to 9. *shakes head* A reader told me the site sent her an email saying the member had been removed from the site, but I don't see that happening.

I want to say a BIG thank you to everyone who helped speak up over this, or just sent me a note of commiseration. Plagiarism is not flattery, it just sucks ass, but I'm always grateful when we find and remove it from the MM community!

~ Cia

So more news, cause this asshole pissed off the WRONG author!!

I need help to get a plagiarist's stolen content off the web! This "author" called LostBoyz on AO3 stole one of my stories and edited it to make it seem like his own by changing some of the details, the characters, and the dialogue... while still using MY story. AO3 removed the story content, but not the listing from their profile, and left access to the rest of the stories.

I've just proven the jerk also stole from several other authors:

Between the Bars from Literotica, written by Carsonshepherd and posted it as "Burned" on AO3.

The Magic In Your Touch, written by WavyScribe/Sara Bell and posted as "The County Sheriff" on AO3.

Shakespeare's Lover written by Ryan Field and posted as "Follow That Dream" on AO3.

Opposites Attract written by Pelaam and posted as "New Breed" on AO3.

I've reported the stories and asked how much more proof they need to take this creep's entire listing down. Join me in blasting the site to get them down, even the works not proven stolen because they don't deserve to be recognized as an author in any form!

Friday, August 21, 2015

This really, really sours my day! First, an anonymous commenter alerted me to this bout of plagiarism, so whoever you are, thank you!

Turns out this "author" on Archive of Our Own, or AO3, took Needing You and then tweaked the characters and paranormal aspect into a Teen Wolf fan-fic. They copied the story arc, the scenes, and sometimes damn near identical dialogue, so it's very obvious they took a copy of my story and just went through making small edits rather than writing their own story.

GRRRRR

I've reported the story to the site, and hopefully they'll get it taken down sooner rather than later. If you know this author, or are an account owner there, feel free to blast them like the thief they are!!

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Yep, back again! This week my flash is inspired by the prompt: Have a character jump rope.

Part 43

I wanted nothing more than to stay
in bed with Teddy, but that wasn’t going to happen. We dressed in dark
clothing, saying nothing until I noticed Teddy left his sling off.

“You need to wear that.”

“Will, we’re sneaking into the
palace to find Shvesla’s machine in order to destroy it. Who knows what will
happen? I’ll be careful, but I may need to use both arms. We’re already stuck
going in there alone; it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

Arguing with him would waste
precious time, even if I didn’t want to admit that he was right. “Be very
careful,” I cautioned him.

We used the servant entrance in
order to sneak out again. “I wish we could get a transport, but we’ll have to
make our way to the theater on foot.”

“It’s fine. We had a good nap
earlier.”

The city was a different place
when we were trying to hide from everyone. I’d grown up blindly believing that
we were safe, even lucky, to be living there. I’d only seen what I wanted to. We
didn’t have to deal with the danger those unfortunate beings who’d been outside
when nature took over and the world became inimical for humans.

Of course, it turned out the
toxins and mutated creatures out there weren’t alone in viewing the people of
the city as prey. How long before this had started happening? Before we’d
turned on our own? Were humans any better than the creatures outside the city?
At least all they wanted to do was survive.

We were crossing an alley when a
hand reached out and yanked me back into the blackness far beyond the edges of
the city lights. It clung, even when I tried to shake it off. Focusing, I sent
a wave of my will to force my attacker to a stop.

It didn’t work.

That had never happened.

“Not hurting you.”

I stopped trying to pull away.
“Wildman?”

“Yes.” He let me go. “Bad city.”

“How did you find us?” Teddy
asked.

“Following you easy.”

“You’ve been following us since we
got back?”

“Off and on.”

“Why?” How’d we miss him? It
wasn’t like Wildman blended in with anyone.

“Bad machine. You need help. I can
help.”

I stared at the slight shine of
his eyes, the only thing I could see. He’d followed us for days, and was just
now approaching us? “Why not let us know you were here before?”

“You alone now. Hiding from the
lights.”

So he’d noticed that we were
trying to stay hidden. Who else had noticed? “Is there someone following us,
besides you?”

“Before. Not now.”

Teddy put a hand on my shoulder,
and I leaned into him. “What do you mean before?” he asked.

“I stopped him.”

“You stopped him. Is he dead?”

Wildman didn’t say anything. Maybe
that silence was indicative that he’d killed a man and didn’t even care. If
someone was following us, he was probably in the employ of Sir Varket, so I
couldn’t feel bad no matter what had happened.

“We need to go, Will.”

“I know.” This was a whole
different world than the jungle outside the city, but considering Wildman had
followed us for days, and I hadn’t noticed a thing, he would be handy when it
came to sneaking into the palace. “Are you coming with us?” I asked him.

“Yes.”

“Okay, then.”

The theater was dark. After
Wildman showed up, I half-expected No Name and his friends. We weren’t that
lucky, but then it might be better anyway. We were going for stealth. I carefully
helped Teddy get down the rope into the room below the theater floor. I
expected Wildman to slither right down, but he jumped over the rope and
straight down, landing lightly on his feet.

Every step through the tunnel
toward the palace ratcheted up the tension. We crept along until we reached the
end. This was the first moment of truth. If our actions had been discovered,
the cell would be full of guards waiting for us.

I held my breath as I slid the
slab of slate up and across the floor, wincing at the loud scrape. I peeked out
and let out a breath of relief. “All clear,” I whispered.

The skeleton was still propped up
against the wall. Wildman stared at it and then bowed. We didn’t have time, and
it wasn’t the place, to ask him why he’d just bowed at a pile of bones.

“Key.” Teddy handed me the key
he’d stashed in the inner pocket of his coat. I had to press tight to the bars
and stretch my arm across at an awkward angle to get it in the lock, but with a
hard turn and a loud clunk, the door unlocked and swung open. I stumbled, but
managed to stay on my feet.

“Should we take the other keys?”

“We might need them.” Teddy
grabbed the ring with the remaining keys off the wall, but they kept clanking
in his pocket. We split them up and each took two.

The big door we’d seen the last
time we entered the tunnels was still shut tight, but thankfully didn’t need a
key. It did take both me and Wildman to open the thick slab. It hadn’t been
opened in a long time. The dust on the other side of the tunnel was even
thicker than it was in the cell, and the edges made a wide swath of in the
buildup.

“At least we know there probably
won’t be any guards,” I whispered.

Wildman sniffed and wrinkled his
nose, but he pushed me aside to take the lead. I didn’t argue with him.
Following directly behind him, holding up the lamp I lit just enough to make a
small circle of light around us, we snuck along the hall… until it branched.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

This week my installment of Fortitude is inspired by the prompt: "You never know what you have 'til it's gone."

Part 42

“We did it.” Teddy and I sat
facing each other in the carriage on the way back to my parents’ house. I had
my hands folded together, but Teddy was sitting on his to hide the trembling.
We were both riding a natural high, but the prospect of what we were about to
do loomed high.

“You did it.” He’d led us through
the dusty tunnels, eventually leading down to the cell. Better, we’d found keys
just inside a heavy, wooden door that led to the cells. I’d snagged them and
tried each key on the door until one opened the cell.

It didn’t look like anyone had
been in the tunnels for ages, but to be safe, I removed just the key to the
cell and replaced the ring on the hook driven into the rock wall.

Teddy smiled. I liked seeing that
look on his face. As stressful as everything had been, we were closer than ever
before. He was all I needed.

Back at my parents’ house, my
mother bombarded us with questions. It was all I could do in order to escape without
having to describe the quality of the buckles on Sir Varket’s shoes. “We’re
going to organize our next report on the King’s list. Perhaps you may accompany
us when we deliver it to the palace” I said. I nudged Teddy, and he backed up. “We’ll
be back down for dinner.”

My mother patted her hair. “I’ll
have to arrange a beauty parlor then.”

“Oh no, ma’am. You’re quite
beautiful as you are,” Teddy said.

She preened, and I nearly gagged. “Thank
you, Theodore.”

We made our escape, finally, and
hurried along until I could slam my door behind us and lock it. “She is a
vulture,” I spat. “Feasting on the rewards from our sacrifice.” It was getting
harder to pretend I didn’t know what my parents had done to us.

“After tonight, it won’t matter.
She won’t get a dime, and the king will no longer be able to use us with
Schvesla’s machine.” Teddy rubbed my shoulders and pulled me into his chest,
giving me a one-armed hug. I leaned against him.

“How about a nap?” I asked. “We’ll
need the rest, and I didn’t sleep very well last night.”

“I don’t think I’ve slept very
well in weeks.” Teddy eyed the bed. “Your mother would have a conniption if she
knew we lay down in the middle of the day.”

“You know that saying, ‘You’ll
never know what you have ‘til it’s gone’? I don’t want to wait. We’re in danger
of being discovered at any time.” Now that we were down to it, now that we were
going to find Schvesla’s machine and shut it down that night, my nerves were
shot. I was trying to hold it together for Teddy, to remain confident, but if I
had my choice, we would never leave my room again.

We’d remain safe together, always.
But I knew that wasn’t possible, and so did Teddy. But if we were going to risk
death upon discovery, I was going to do it with the sight of him ecstatic in
pleasure locked in my memory. I needed the taste of him on my lips and the feel
of him in my hands. “Let me love you.”

Teddy nodded, not speaking. I drew
off his sling and eased him out of his clothes and onto my neatly made bed. I
tore off my vest and shirt, but my fingers fumbled with the ties on my pants.

Finally, I stood bare before him.
My chest was rising and falling quickly, and my manhood jutted obscenely in
front of me. Teddy licked his lips, and I groaned. We’d touched before but
never where I could see the naked want in his eyes.

“Will?” Teddy whispered.

I put one knee on the bed, and
then the other, crawling over to him. “I’m here. How’s your arm? Do you need a
pillow?” I reached for one, but he stopped me.

“No. I’m fine.” He slid his hand
up my arm and then down to my chest, brushing his fingers over my nipple. “They’re
so small.”

“And sensitive,” I gasped. He
pinched the other one, rolling it between his fingers. My erection brushed
against my stomach as my muscles tightened, leaving a wet smear behind. I
stilled his hand before he could do it again.

“I want to touch you.” I wanted to
be smooth, to seduce him, but my voice broke.

Teddy heard what I didn’t say, and
as always, he let me have what I needed. He relaxed on the bed and spread his
legs. The muscles in his slender thighs trembled, and I had to touch them
first. The hairs on his legs were crinkled and prickly down by Teddy’s knees,
but on his inner thighs, closer to his core, the hair grew soft… and his skin
softer.

Nothing was softer than the skin
over his manhood.

The look on Teddy’s face mesmerized
me. I kept looking at the flesh under my hands and then back to his face,
trying not to miss anything.

It was awkward, and erotic, as I
tried to figure out how to kiss him and stroke our erections together. Teddy
bucked in my hold and the tips of our erections caught. I groaned, squeezing my
hand down on them. A tingle ran down my spine, the zing pushing me closer to
the edge.

“Will,” Teddy said against my
mouth. His fingers dug into my sides and I went faster, pushing, seeking that
pinnacle.